


Thinking of You

by debwalsh



Series: Bingo-Bingo [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Steve Bingo, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 06:58:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16781941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debwalsh/pseuds/debwalsh
Summary: Bucky starts finding little cards with love notes on them.He's got something in his eye. Really.





	Thinking of You

**Author's Note:**

> For my "love notes in odd places" square of my Happy Steve Bingo.

Bucky came out of the shower with a fluffy towel wrapped around his waist, and another draped over his shoulders, catching the drops that ran from his long hair. He’d had a good workout, and his muscles felt pleasantly fatigued. Add a long hot shower to the mix, and he was feeling pretty damned good.

Not enough to want to move back to New York and Stark’s tower of heroes, but he had to admit that he missed the facilities here. Life in Meadowville didn’t really lend itself to exhausting a serum-enhanced centenarian. He wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Like everyone else with access to the tower, he had his own “locker” - more of a personal alcove, with a lock keyed to his voice with overrides for JARVIS - but he still held to the old habit of carrying his stuff in a small duffle. He’d done that as a kid in Brooklyn going to the local gym to box, and returning to an well worn routine just felt right to him. And besides, he was just visiting while Steve was out of the country, an impromptu decision when Steve had told him his plans to travel.

He dropped his towel before he started rummaging in the bag for clean underwear, and straightened slowly when he found a little card stuffed inside the clean shorts.

“Thinking of you wherever I am. Love you, jerk. Steve.”

He smiled, the lines around his eyes crinkling with fond affection. Steve was on a non-Avengers mission in Northern Europe, a thing that Thor had asked for his help on. He wasn’t due home for another few days, and damn, but Bucky was missing his man. Steve must’ve planted the note before he left, and the sight of his loopy script, almost calligraphed in its precise curves ... well, if anyone had seen, he would’ve claimed dust got in his eye, but truth was, Bucky wasn’t above a tear or two when he was separated from Steve.

A guy had the right to miss his fella, right? Damn right.

&&&

“Hey, babe, you seen my sunglasses?”

“You check the top of your head?” Steve called back from the bedroom.

Bucky grimaced and patted the top of his head. Sure enough, his shades were holding his hair back like a hair band, and he’d forgotten he’d shoved them up there when he’d started to get ready.

“Yeah, um, found ‘em. Never mind!” he yelled back, pinking with embarrassment.

“Yeah, bet you did,” Steve chuckled as he sauntered into the living room. “Saw ‘em on your head not five minutes ago. You goin’ out?”

“Meeting Nat for coffee and gossip. You wanna come with?”

“Nah. Sam said he’d be over in a bit. Wants to talk about a new art program for his groups. Thinkin’ it might be fun, y’know? Doin’ art with vets.”

“You’re not regretting your retirement, are you?”

“Nope. But workin’ with vets isn’t the same thing as being Captain America. ‘Sides, it’s nice to stay busy when we’re in town, you know?”

“Yeah, just don’t forget our home is in Meadowville, not New York City. Visiting is nice and all, but I’m looking forward to getting back to the girls and the dance group. This group thing gonna take up much of your time?”

“Just planning right now. Might be something I can set up for Sam to run, you know?”

“Okay. Well, I’m gonna be late.” Bucky pressed a quick kiss on Steve’s lips and added, “Love you.”

“Love you, too. Say hi to Nat for me. And be prepared to spill every bit of gossip you get out of her.”

&&&

It was good to hang out with Nat every so often. Her sense of humor was so dry is was arid, and her eye for detail always teased out the most amusing interpretations and scenarios. He had fun just kicking back with her, and she could relax with him in a way she couldn’t with many people. Barton was one of them, and Sam, too. Steve not quite as much, because even though there was a great fondness between them, for some reason Nat always acted a little more reserved around Steve. Like she expected that “Captain America questions your life choices” look from him. Which only showed how little she really knew him. Bucky’d have to make sure Steve came along next time - let him and Nat get to know each other better.

Right now, he was back in line to get a couple of cookies to go with their refills. When he fished out his wallet to pull out his card, he found another of those little white cards. He handed his credit card over and waited for his order before giving in to curiosity about the card. But once he had his tray of goodies, he held back, over to the side, so he could read it with a little privacy.

“More today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow. I love you. Steve.”

Yeah, that New York pollution. Got a little bit in his eye.

&&&

Thor was happy with the results of the trip he dragged Steve on, Nat was happy to gossip about all the people they knew, but gave little away about herself, and Sam was happy with the syllabus Steve had sketched out for him and his vets. All in all, it was a successful trip to New York City, but Bucky was happy to be heading back home to Meadowville. He might’ve been a city boy growing up, but now in his second century, he enjoyed the rhythm of life in a small town and the inevitability and routine of life on a farm.

They’d recently found themselves adopted by a gorgeous silver blue cat, a handsome boy they’d named Dum-Dum in honor of their old comrade. Well, not really - he may have been pretty, but he managed to get himself into all manner of scrapes through curiosity or just plain cussedness, and Dum-Dum had stuck. They’d left him with one of Bucky’s ladies while they were away, and Bucky was happy to collect their boy and head home.

Steve was stowing their gear in the bedroom and organizing laundry while Bucky took catering duty to get Dum-Dum’s food dishes up to par. He was in the pantry to fill the boy’s dishes when he found a little card sitting in the airtight bin where they kept the kibble.

“You feed my soul and brighten my days. I love you. Steve.”

Yeah, Buck was just happy to be home. He’d really missed Dum-Dum.

&&&

Steve had the washing machine humming away, and felt a tension drain out of his bones. He enjoyed New York and seeing all their friends, but there was something about the home that he and Buck had built that just made sense to him, on a cellular level. It was like, here he could breathe. Here he could be himself in a way he never could in New York. And here was the life he’d come to love, with the man he loved. And their asshole of a cat, but anything sweeter just wouldn’t have been them.

He finished unpacking, and went to set their shaving kits and toiletries back in the bathroom when he found a little card taped to the bathroom mirror.

“I love you too. Meet me in the bedroom and I’ll prove it to you. Bucky.”

Who said that romance was dead?

END

**Author's Note:**

> Only two more prompts and bingo!


End file.
